Lead pencil



1.3. MASON, 1R.

' LEAD PENCIL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2l, 192|.

Patented @De@.12,1922

lASSAl Patented Dec. l2, 1922..

4urrED JAMES BRUCE MASON, JR., OF IIZASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

LEAD PENCIL.

-Application.f1-led February 21, 1921. Serial' No. 446,613.

To aZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES BRUCE MASON, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Lead Pencils, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to lead pencils of the kind in which the lead is contained within a casing and is pro elled or fed when required through a suitable guide and through a pointed end or nozzle in such manner that the outer end of the lead shall project only a short distance beyond the tip of the nozzle so that while sufliciently exposed, for Writing purposes, it is not apt to break.

Pencils of this general class have heretofore been provided with a magazine in which spare leads are stored in order that when one lead has'been used up to a considerable extent another lead may be brought into operative position.

According to my invention I provide pencils 'of the class above referred to with a magazine for spare leads, and said magazine is associated with means whereby a fresh lead may be transferred from the magazine to working position without opening the pencil case and without disconnecting any of its parts.

-ln my application for Patent No. 434,883, led Jan. 4, 1921, I thave shown, described and claimed a pencil of this general kind, but

the mechanism shown inthe accompanying drawings is different in detail from the mechanism shown in said application.

Figure 1 shows a longitudlnal, central section through a pencil embodying my present improvements.

Figure 2 is a vlew on an enlarged scale and l in transverse section on the line 2 2 of- Fig. 1.

i Figure 3 is a similar sectional view, showing the parts in a different position.

Figure 4 shows various parts of the lead feed mechanism withdrawn from the casing and detached from each other.

Figure y5 shows in longitudinal section a modifiedform of pencil.

Figure 6 shows an elevation of some of the parts shown in Fig. 5.

The tubular casing A Y formed on its interior with screw threads a',

is divided' about mid-u way between its opposite ends by a partition the grooves and ridges of which are purposely made quite shallow, as shown.- The upper or outer end of the casing is closed by a screw cap B between which and the' end of the casing washers b, b are interposed. The washer b may be made of metal, whilethe washer b is preferably made of rubber, leather or similar material and should be relatively thick.

rlhe plunger C consists of a rod, preferably made of piano wire or some such material having great rigidity and yet having elasticity. The inner or lower portion of the rod is straight, while the u per or outer end is formed with a coil c w ich is of such shape and size. as to firmly but yieldingly engage theA screw threads a of the casing. The rod C extends through the partition a and is turned in the casing by means of a slotted bar D which extends through the calp B and is provided with an operating knob The soft washer b lits the bar D tightly and produces such friction thereon that while the bar may be freely turned and freely moved endwise the upper end of the rod through the slotdz and then around the bar in the manner clearly shown in the drawings, the parts 02 of the coil being adapted to move longitudinally in the slot,=while the curved portion of the coil surrounding the bar D is adapted to move longitudinally thereon.

By the construction shown, the plunger may be gradually moved endwise. through the partition a by merely turning the knob d and it may also be moved in the opposite 00.

direction by reversing the movement of the knob.l The construction is likewise such that the plunger may be retracted by a quick slid- 4ing movement because of the shallow nature of the screw thread andthe yielding condi tion of the coil which forms part 'of the plunger. The devices just describedv are shown, described and claimed in my appllcav tion. for patent above mentioned.

The lower part of the tubular casing carries a nozzle E which is removably c011- nected with the casing by means of screw threads e. v'Ihenozzle is hollow and tapered as shown, the tip e being formed with an orilice through which the lead extends and through which it is fed. The hole is of just suihcient size to permit the lead to move freely endwise without undue lateral strain. J ust inside the tip e l provide a screw plug F, similar to that shown in my before-mentionedapplication, through which the lead extends. This plug F serves to guide the lead just before it enters the tip of the nozzle.

The magazine in which the spare leads are stored, and which contains the lead in use, is located in the lower portion of the tubular casing within a chamber G. This magazine comprises a slotted, tubular member H having a tapered upper end h which enters a correspondingly tapered hole in the partition a and a lower portion h which extends into the nozzle E. As shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the member H is provided with a wing L located on one side of the slot l. It extends from one edge of the slotto the inner wall of the casingA and it guides theleads to the central portion of the magazine. The wing L may be attached to the vmember H in an suitable way. Preferably the member ld is surrounded by a sheet metal part H which carries the wing.

'ln the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 4, inclusive, the magazine is held stationary in tle casin "A, the end h of the member being ma e to tightly tit the hole in the partition a.

`M indicates a lead feeder which operates as. hereinafter described to automatically feed a lead into the central part of the magazine in line with the nozzle opening. This feeder comprises/a bar m (Fig. t) secured at its upper end to a ring fm. and at its lower end to a ring m2. The ring m surrounds the upper part of the member H and the rlng m2 surrounds the lower part of4 sald member. These rings are so mounted that they vmay be turned about the axis of the member lll. The upper ring m.- is connected by means of a coiled sprin 'a to a split ring o applied to the upper en of the part il. of the member lill. This split ring is made to tightly fit the part it so that it cannot turn thereon when once adjusted and forced into position.

By this construction, lit will be observed,

' the feeder as a whole may be turned about the axis of the magazine. When turned in one directlon the spring n will be wound up and if then arrested the feeder will be held vce under spring tension. j The lower or outer portion of the bar m is tapered, as indicated at p, to facilitate the entrance of the lead, the lower or outer end ofthe bar being adjacent an opening g in the ring m2.

" envthe magazineis empty or needs re- Yplenishing the nozzle is removed and the leads, one at e e, may he reed through he the opening g and as-they bear against the the incline p of the rod the feeder as a whole (the bar and the rings) will be turned about the axis of the pencil, in the manner indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. Ordinarily there are three-leads always in the pencil. Figure 3 illustrates how the next lead is inserted. The construction is such that the feeder M may come close to the lip'L but when a lead is inserted the feeder is forced away from the lip and a new lead assumes its position in the magazine, namely, the position shown 1 n Fig. 3. When the next lead is inserted 1t will enter between the lead lettered in Fig. 3 and the feeder M, and so on until the magazine is filled or partially filled, as shown in Fig. 2. The spring n, is thus put under tension which is exerted in the manner indicated-by the arrows in Figs. 2 and 3. The manner of filling-the magazine is somewhat similar to that shown in my application before mentioned.

Tn using the pencil, when thus supplied ,withleads, the central lead is fed forward, as required, by turning the knobdwhich turns the banD, in turn revolving the plunger and the latter is moved outwards towards the nozzle and operates on the central lead, thus causing itto be 'fed through the nozzle. After the lead has been used up toa considerable extent and a fresh lead is. required, the coil c will be in contact with the flange or collar d or in close proximity thereto so that by pulling the knob d away from the end of the casing the plunger will be withdrawn through the end of the magazine. As soon as it is thus withdrawn. the lead which was next adjacent to said central -lead will be automatically moved into the central position by the spring n which operates to turn the feeder M in the direction shown by the arrows in Figs. 2 and 3.

llt will be observed that the operation of bringing a fresh lead into .position requires no slow turning movement of any part of the pencil. Thecollar al engages the coil c and moves it outward without turning, the coil yieldin sufficiently to easily clear the -screw threa s of the casin 0f course when fine adjustment is desire the plunger maybe retracted gradually or to a slight extent by properly turning the knob.

From a practical standpoint it will be seen that the first user of a pencil of the kind above described and shown will have very little trouble in operating it or in rccharging it for a considerable time. only necessary to operate the knob d to feed the lead forward when required and` this lead will last a considerable time. When the lead fails to feed` the user merely pulls the knob outwards awayv from the casing and arfresh lead will'then automatically move into place before the knob can returned and asseoirv as the knob is relt is r lll@ Y of leads when the pencil is being recharged.

definite period, but when the leads are exhausted the operation of refilling the maga-A zine is a very easyone, it being only necessary for the user to withdraw the nozzle E and pass leads one at a time through the opening g, the leads being automatically guided into place as the loperation of inserting the leads proceeds. lt is not necessary to entirely fill the magazine as the insertion of one additional lead will'put the magazine in operative condition, but of course it is preferable to insert a plurality lt lwill be observed that the plunger C is so limited in its outward movement that its does not entirely expel the lead through the nozzle so that there is always some lead in the pencil ready for use before afresh lou7 the plunger.

In Figs. 5 and-6 l have shown a modication in which the construction is such that both the magazine and the feeder are movable about the longitudinal axis of the pencil land are both spring-actuated. Such parts as are similar to those shown in Fi l-a,

inclusive, are correspondingly lettere Prac# tically the only diii'erenoe in this mechanism is that the upper end of the member H is not engaged with the partition a but terminates below it. ln the construction shown, the feeder and the magazine proper or member H move in opposite directions;

' that' is to say, when a.lead is-inserted in the manner indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, and assuming that the parts H and M are connected by a coiled spring'n in the manner before described, -it will be clear that when i a lead is inserted, as indicated at m lFig. 3,

-the feeder M and the member H will be moved inl opposite. directions or at least are.

free to move in opposite directions, both being held in contact with the lead or leads by the spring.

l claim as my-invention:

1. A pencil comprising a tubular casin having a nozzle aton'e end through *whie the leadv is fed and having a plunger for advancing the lead in the pencil, a ma zine. for storingleads within the tub ar casing comprismga longitudinally slotted 'member, anda lead feeder within'the casing rotatable about. the axis ofthe casing and around said slotted member and spring-ac-v tuated in one direction. p 2. A pencil comprising a tubular casin having a nozzle in one end through whic a lead -is fed, and 'having a plunger for advancing the lead inthe nozzle, a magazine for spare leads within the'v tubular cas?. ing, and a feeder within'the casing havin an outer inclined end and which .is mounte to turn about the .axis ofithe magazine and which is spring-pressed inv one direction. 3. A pencil comprising a tubular casing having a nozzle at Aone end through'which a lead is fed and having 'a plunger for' advancinguthe lead in the nozzle, ama a'- casing also adapted to moveabout said longitudinal axis, and a spring" connecting the feeder with the magazine. lead is brought into operative position beand a connecting bar, a spring connected g5 i' with the feeder, and means for connecting said spring with' the magazine member.

5. A pencil comprising a tubular casing havin a nozzle at one end through which a lea is fed and having a plunger for advancing the lead in the nozzle, a slotted magazine member havinga guide` at its outer end for the lead, a lead feeder coinprising upper and lower rings and a con-y necting bar, a spring attached to the upper ring, land a collar to which the opposite end of the spring is attached and which is connected with the upper portion of the magazine member.

6. A pencil comprising a .tubular casingv 100 comprising a longitudinally slotted member, 105

anda lead. feeder within the casing rotatable about the axis of the casing and aroundsaid slotted member, and spring actuated 1n one direction. l

ln testimony whereof, I have hereunto 110 subscribed m naine.

.une BRUCE MASON, JR. 

